(Radio Iowa) – After push-back from residents who raise AND race homing pigeons, the Storm Lake City Council has hit pause on a proposal that would have allowed no more than 10 pigeons to be kept at a single property. At a city council meeting this week, a woman told the council her family sometimes has up to 80 pigeons.

The family’s racing pigeons are banded and she said the birds spend most of their day in the coop.

Storm Lake officials say they’ve fielded complaints about the family’s pigeons flying around the neighborhood. Storm Lake’s mayor says the council may convene a working group to make changes in the proposed ordinance that’s been tabled. The policy would have set time limits on when pigeons could be released in Storm Lake for exercise or for racing. The sport of pigeon racing started in Belgium in the 19th century and became popular in Great Britain and other parts of Europe. The American Pigeon Racing Union says there are 700 clubs around the country, with races for the birds that are between 100 and 600 miles.